Swinging utility vessel holder

ABSTRACT

A vessel holder including a free-swinging receiving and holding device for holding and securing a vessel. A free-swinging vessel holder including a receiving and holding device for holding and securing a vessel, a pivoting device operatively attached to the receiving and holding device for pivoting and swiveling the receiving and holding device and allowing free-swinging of the receiving and holding device, and an affixing device operatively connected to the pivoting device for affixing the receiving and holding device to a fixed surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. Section119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/625,055, filed Nov.4, 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of vehicle accessories andspecifically towards a holder or retainer for vessels and the like.

2. Description of Related Art

There are numerous types of cup holders known to those of skill in theart. Generally, these cup holders are utilized in moving vehicles. Thecup holders vary in design, size, and shape. Further, the cup holderscan be utilized in various settings such as automobiles. However, thecup holders can always be improved.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,096 discloses a drink container stabilizing devicethat normally rests upon a relatively horizontal surface. The deviceonly prevents the entire drink container from tipping over as opposed topreventing the contents within the drink container from splashing out.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,390 discloses a container holding device that is anarticulating holder having a suction cup for mounting the holder on anysmooth surface. As with other container holding devices, this containerholding device does not allow the drink container to sway independentlyof the holding device. As a result, any movement of the vehicle will bedirectly translated to the drink container from the container holdingdevice. Thus, the liquid within the drink container will splash andspill out of the drink container.

Further examples of cup holders include U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,109, whichdiscloses a beverage dispenser holder that is mountable on a vehicledashboard. The holder securely attaches to the dashboard and translatesmovement of the vehicle directly to the beverage container.

Another example of a cup holder is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,635,which discloses a cup-holder stabilizer that includes a two-fold uppercylinder and a lower cylinder. The cup-holder stabilizer merely preventsthe cup placed within the upper cylinder from tipping over. Liquidwithin the cup can still spill out.

As described above, while driving a moving vehicle, cup holders allow acup placed therein to tip over entirely or for the liquid inside the cupto spill or splash out of the cup. The cause of these results is due tomotion of the vehicle. Generally, cup holders retain or hold the cup ina somewhat stationary position; thus, they fail to prevent the liquidinside the cup from splashing out. Vehicle motion causes the liquid tomove. As a result, if the moving vehicle were to make a wide or fastturn, either the cup would tip over or the liquid would spill or splashout of the cup.

Accordingly, there is a need for a free-swinging or swaying vesselholder that would permit a cup inside to sway along with the movement ofa vehicle. Therefore, splashing and tip-over of the vessel or cup can beminimized or eliminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved vessel holder or receptaclefor use in a moving vehicle. The present invention provides a vesselholder including a free-swinging receiving and holding device forholding and securing a vessel. Further, the present invention provides afree-swinging vessel holder including a receiving and holding device forholding and securing a vessel, a pivoting device operatively attached tothe receiving and holding device for pivoting and swiveling thereceiving and holding device and allowing free-swinging of the receivingand holding device, and an affixing device operatively connected to thepivoting device for affixing the receiving and holding device to a fixedsurface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Other advantages of the present invention are readily appreciated, asthe same becomes better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, whereinthe present invention hangs from a dashboard of an automobile;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention being utilizedwithin a center console unit; and

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Generally, the present invention is a free-swinging or swaying vesselholder that can be used in a moving vehicle. The present invention is animprovement over other cup holders of the prior art in that it swingsand/or sways back and forth and/or side to side with the motion of themoving vehicle. As a result, any liquid contents within the vessel havea reduced amount of splashing that occurs and/or the vessel cannot tipover because the motion of the vehicle is not directly translated to theliquid contents within the vessel. The swaying or swinging motion of thepresent invention dissipates the force of motion of the liquid contentswithin the vessel. In the swinging motion, the side of the vessel iseffectively raised as a wave of the liquid hits the side wall of thevessel. Hence, the possibility of spillage due to changes in vehiclemotion are decreased and minimized.

As used herein, the term “vessel” means a hollow or concave utensil forholding something. It is any type of hollow structure that can hold asolid or liquid. Preferably, the vessel holds a liquid. Examples ofvessels include, but are not limited to, cups, cans, bottles, jars,mugs, bowls, and any other similar vessels known to those of skill inthe art. The vessel can vary in size, shape, and design. The presentinvention can accommodate any type of vessel.

The present invention can be made from any suitable material known tothose of skill in the art. For example, the present invention can bemade from aluminum, copper, brass, stainless steel, plastics, metal,rubber, polymers, synthetic materials, alloys, leather, vinyl, foam,combinations thereof, and any other similar sturdy material known tothose of skill in the art. Those skilled in the art can utilizewell-known techniques and fabrication processes in order to constructany embodiment of the present invention. Such techniques include, butare not limited to, welding, riveting, stitching, fastening, adhesiveprocesses, molding, injection molding, extrusion techniques, and anyother similar techniques known to those of skill in the art. Basically,any technique and/or methodology known to those of skill in the art canbe used to manufacture the present invention. Of course, variousmodifications can be made by those of skill in the art and will still bewithin the spirit of the present invention.

The present invention prevents a vessel placed therein from tipping overand preventing spillage of liquid contents within the vessel. In orderto achieve this result, the pivoting device is situated above the centerof gravity of the liquid contents. Further by free-swinging orfree-swaying, the present invention dissipates any momentum or forcescaused by the moving vehicle from directly translating to the liquidcontents within the vessel. As a result, the contents within the vesselwill not splash out of the vessel.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a vesselholder 10 including a free-swinging receiving and holding device 12 forholding and securing a vessel 18. The free-swinging holding device 12includes a pivoting device 14 operatively attached to the receiving andholding device 12 for pivoting and swiveling the receiving and holdingdevice 12 and for allowing the receiving and holding device 12 to freelyswing.

The receiving and holding device 12 can receive and hold a vessel 18 ofany size. The receiving and holding device 12 includes an opening 20defining a receiving area 22 for the vessel 18. Any type, shape, and/orsize of vessel 18 can be placed within the receiving and holding device12. Preferably, the receiving and holding device 12 is cylindrical inshape. The receiving and holding device 12 can optionally have anadjusting mechanism 24 for removeably securing the vessel 18 placedwithin the receiving and holding device 12. The adjusting mechanism 24can be a strap, flexible plastic, elastic device, or any other similardevice known to those of skill in the art that adjustably holds and/orsecures the vessel 18 within the receiving holding device 12.

The pivoting device 14 can be any device or set of devices that canallow the receiving and holding device 12 to freely swing and/or swaywith the motion of the moving vehicle. The pivoting device 14 allows thereceiving and holding device 12 to move, swing, and/or swayindependently from the affixing device 16. Examples of the pivotingdevice 14 include, but are not limited to, a ball and socket joint, ahook, a peg, a bolt, screw, bolt, swivel device and any other similarpivoting devices known to those of skill in the art. The pivoting device14 is attached to the receiving and holding device 12 through anattaching device 26 such as, but not limited to, a hole, aperture,indentation, a radial extension, a protrusion of the receiving andholding device 12 of appropriate size and design. The attaching device26, when engaged with the pivoting device 14 allows the receiving andholding device 12 to move independently from the affixing device 16. Asa result, the receiving and holding device 12 swings and/or sways freelyand independently when the vehicle is in motion.

The affixing device 16 removeably or permanently attaches thefree-swinging vessel holder 10 to a fixed surface of the moving vehicle.The affixing device 16 can be, but is not limited to, a screw, nut andbolt combination, hook and loop fastener, glue, adhesive strip, suctioncup, pins, levers, fasteners, and any other similar affixing devicesknown to those of skill in the art. Preferably, the fixed surface thatthe affixing device 16 attaches to is the dashboard or center console ofthe vehicle. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, asuction cup is utilized as the affixing device 16. Alternatively, theaffixing device 16 can be a strap of material with an aperture that canbe placed on a knob, cigarette lighter, handle, lock post, or any othersimilar extension of the vehicle's interior. In yet another embodimentof the present invention, a cigarette adaptor can be used specificallyto hold the vessel holder 10 of the present invention.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a free-swingingvessel holder 10 including a receiving and holding device 12 for holdingand securing a vessel 18. The receiving and holding device 12 isoperatively attached to a pivoting device 14. The pivoting device 14allows for the pivoting, swaying, and/or swiveling of the receiving andholding device 12 when lateral, longitudinal, and/or other forces areapplied to the receiving and holding device 12. Finally, the pivotingdevice 14 is operatively connected to an affixing device 16.

In operation, a vessel 18 is placed into the receiving and holdingdevice 12. When the vehicle initially moves, the present inventioneffectively allows the vessel 18 to swing or sway in a direction counterto the vehicle's movement thereby dissipating the force on the liquidcontents within the vessel 18 that would cause the contents to spillover the top of the vessel's 18 upper lip. When the vehicle stops or isturned, again, the swinging and swaying of the receiving and holdingdevice 12 (as allowed by the pivoting device 14 of the presentinvention) counters any spillage of the liquid contents within thevessel 18. As the liquid contents decrease, as by the ingestion of theliquid by a person, there is a decrease in force generated by thedecreasing amount of liquid contents within the vessel 18. As a result,less swinging or swaying is necessary because the liquid contents arelower in the vessel 18 relative to the side walls of the vessel 18.Hence, there is an effective self-adjustment of the swinging or swayingmotion of the present invention based on the content of the liquidwithin the vessel 18.

The present invention can be utilized in any environment and with anymoving vehicle such as, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, buses,boats, golf carts, planes, and any other similar moving vehicle known tothose of skill in the art. Of course, the present invention can also beutilized in any non-vehicular applications also. If the presentinvention is utilized in a moving vehicle, it can be attached and/orincorporated into various interior areas of the vehicle including, butnot limited to, the dashboard, center console, door panel, seat back, orother similar areas known to those of skill in the art. In order to usethe present invention, the affixing device 16 is attached to a fixedsurface on the moving vehicle and then the cup containing the liquid isplaced within the receiving area 22 of the receiving and holding device12. As a result, the cup cannot tip over or release from the receivingand holding device 12. Further, the liquid in the cup will have aminimal or negligible amount of splashing that can occur.

Throughout this application, various publications, including UnitedStates patents, are referenced by author and year and patents by number.Full citations for the publications are listed below. The disclosures ofthese publications and patents in their entireties are herebyincorporated by reference into this application in order to more fullydescribe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is tobe understood that the terminology, which has been used is intended tobe in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the described invention, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

1. A vessel holder comprising free-swinging receiving and holding meansfor holding and securing a vessel therein.
 2. The vessel holderaccording to claim 1, wherein said free-swinging holding means includespivoting means operatively attached to said receiving and holding meansfor pivoting and swiveling said receiving and holding means and forallowing said receiving and holding means to freely swing.
 3. The vesselholder according to claim 2, wherein said receiving and holding meansincludes attaching means for attaching said receiving and holding meansto said pivoting means.
 4. The vessel holder according to claim 3,wherein said attaching means is defined as a hole, aperture,indentation, a radial extension, a protrusion of said receiving andholding means, and combinations thereof.
 5. The vessel holder accordingto claim 4, wherein said pivoting means is defined as a ball and socketjoint, a hook, a peg, a bolt, screw, swivel device and combinationsthereof.
 6. The vessel holder according to claim 2, wherein saidpivoting means is operatively attached to affixing means for affixingsaid pivoting means and said receiving and holding means to a fixedsurface.
 7. The vessel holder according to claim 6, wherein saidaffixing means is defined as a screw, nut and bolt combination, hook andloop fastener, glue, adhesive strip, suction cup, pins, levers,fasteners, and combinations thereof.
 8. The vessel holder according toclaim 2, wherein said receiving and holding means further includesadjusting means for tightly securing a vessel within said receiving andholding means.
 9. A free-swinging vessel holder comprising: receivingand holding means for holding and securing a vessel; pivoting meansoperatively attached to said receiving and holding means for pivotingand swiveling said receiving and holding means and allowingfree-swinging of said receiving and holding means; and affixing meansoperatively connected to said pivoting means for affixing said receivingand holding means to a fixed surface.